Want to Compete ? ~ Try Fancy Footwork
All shaggers get to the point at some time when they look at more advanced dancers and are spellbound with the footwork that they start to see exhibited. The feet seem to move so fast, but yet they are smooth, keep time and maintain a graceful appearance. So what is going on here? Enter things like a crush step, in which the dancer steps onto the side of his foot, which in turn causes the leg to bow out, which, when followed by the opposite foot crush step becomes a boogie walk.
Other steps like a stutter are built in a figure called the charm. Kick backs are all over the place as in Double Kick Back Around, Kick Back and Lean and Flip Pivot with Triple Kick Back. Then you have a pause, a drag, a pivot, a swivel … and so it goes on. Not many teachers look at footwork as a class topic, but Wayne and Judy are considering how to build these foundations into a class. If you look at the shag style video and concentrate on the footwork, you will see how much this contributes to the style of the dance. In competition fancy footwork and good shag style are essential, before you even get to complex figures.